Automatic light control device



Sept. 18, 1934.

G. ELFLEIN 1,974,265

AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE Filed Oct. 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l &

INVENTOR Gen/g? 67 Ian G. ELFLEEN AUTOMATIC LIGHT CONTROL DEVICE Sept. 18,1934.

Filed Oct. 21, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 18, .1934

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to clock controlled lighting apparatus, and it is one object to provide such an apparatus in which, by a setting means associated with the clock dial, the clock will automatically close or open a lighting circuit toy'cause the lamps to glow at a predetermined hour and to extinguish the same at another predetermined time.

Another object of'the invention is the provision of an automatically operating device for closing and opening the light circuit, equipped with means disposed in a secondary circuit to advance the circuit closing contacts so as to open, at a predetermined time or hour, the primary light circuit, or to close the same thereby to extinguish or light all the lamps in the circuit simultaneously.

A still further object of the invention is in the provision of a lighting circuit control means, in-

eluding an electromagnetic'controlled pawl operated by a ratchet wheel carrying a plurality of contact pins, alternately engaged by a contact brush connected to concentric contact rings, and carrying pins not connected to said rings.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, and will then be defined in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a material part of this disclosure:-

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a clock used for operating the means controlling a lamp circuit constructed according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof.

Figure 3 illustrates the circuit closing means and operating elements therefor immediately rearward of the dial plate.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view of the clock 4o casing and wiring.

Figure 6 is a view of the ratchet wheel, contact rails and circuit closers.

Figure '7 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6.

As illustrated, a clock 10 has the usual dial plate 11, minute hand 12, on a sleeve 14, and an hour hand 13, on a spindle 14, surrounded by the sleeve 14.

The dial plate 11 is provided with two arcuate slots 15-16, in which are adjusted therealong, relative to the hours-on the dial, the stems of two knobs, respectively, 17-18, thus providing means for setting the device at selected hours that the lights are turned on and off.

It is to be noted that the slots 15-16, while concentric, are ofiset one from another to permit adjustment without interference and obviously may be of any length so that the time of lighting or extinguishing the lamps in the circuit may be selectively varied. C 3 To the rear side of the dial plate 11, are secured two segmental plates 19-20, respectively carrying idler gears 21-22, in mesh with gear wheels 23-24, on the sleeve 14, and are also in mesh with gears 25-26 respectively. C

The spindle 27 of the gear 25 is revoluble in the stem of the knob 1'; and fixed on the stem is a disc 28 urged inwardly by a coiled compression spring 28' towards the gear 25, the disc having a concentric row of twelve spaced openings 29, one for each of the twelve hours, to selectively receive a pin 29' set in the face of the gear 25, and by which the disc and knob are rotated.

A lug 30 on the periphery of the disc 28, is adapted to close the spring contacts 31-32 for it a purpose further on described.

The left hand, arcuate slot 16 is provided with similar operating elements carried by the plate 20 to operate in a like manner in turning the lighting current off. 59

In the rear portion of the clock 10 is a. fixed stud 35 which carries a ratchet wheel 36 and a bell-crank lever, fulcrumed on the spindle, one arm 37 of which has a pawl 38 pivotally attached at its lower end to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 36, being held in engagement by a spring 39.

The other, longer arm 37 of the bell-crank lever is attached to a plunger 40 carrying at its lower end an armature 41; a spring 42 encircles the plunger between a collar 43 and a bracket 44 on the partition wall 45.

Below the armature 41 is the core 46 of an electromagnet 47 carried by a bracket 48 and arranged in a secondary circuit 49-49, controlled by the spring contacts 31-32 also by contacts 9 31' and 32.

The ratchet wheel 36 carries at its rear (see Figure 6) two concentric insulated contact rings 50-51, and a plurality of contacts 52-52'-52" arranged in four groups of three each, the contacts 52 being coupled by connections 53 with the outer ring 50, the contacts 52 coupled by connections 54-54 to the inner and outer rings 50-51 respectively, while the contacts 52" are unconnected.

Contact rollers 56-57, are guided on the contact rings 51-50 respectively, and are held by arms 58-59, secured to a plate 60 at their upper ends, carrying binding screws 61-62, to which are secured the conductors 63-64.

A brush 65 is connected by a conductor 66 to one pole of a battery 67, to the other pole of which i is connected the lamp circuit 33 in which the lamps 34 are placed.

In setting the apparatus to cause the lamps in the primary circuit to glow at a predetermined hour, the segmental plate 19 is moved' by the knob 17 in the slot 15 to a position opposite a time mark on the clock dial, as at 4 o'clock, at that time the knob being also drawn outwardly, to clear the pin 29 from the openings 29in the disc 28, and the disc turned by the knob to bring the lug 30 into position to close the spring contacts 31-32, thus closing the secondary circuit.

The secondary circuit, when closed, energizes thesolenoid 4'7 to advance the ratchet wheel 36 one-tooth, bringing one of the contact pins 52 on the ratchet wheel into engagement with the brush 65 to close the primary or lamp circuit.

When the lug 30 moves out of engagement with the contacts 31-32, allowing them to separate, the secondary circuit becomes broken, the solenoid 47 de-energized, and the primary circuit continues for twenty-four hours, except it be again closed as hereafter seen.

This effect is due to the reason that the driving gear 23 is fixed on the sleeve 14, driving the hour hand, and communicating motion through an idler gear 21, on the segment 19, to the gear 25 which is double in diameter of the driver 23, and

' in which is fixed the pin 29; thus, the hour hand and pinion 23 make one complete revolution every twelve hours, while the gear 25, and disc 28 rotate only once in twenty-four hours.

In operation to set the device at any selected time, an operator first rotates the clock hands to such selected time and then draws the setting knob 17 outwardly, rotates it until the lug 30 causes the contacts 3132 to engage and then releases the knob', permitting the driving pin 29' to enter one of the openings 29 that is closest, thereby setting the device to operate each day of twentyfour hours at the predetermined time. Thereafter the clock hands are restored to indicate the proper time of day. As illustrated in Figure 5, the arrangement of the various contacts and lamps is such that during one night only two lamps will be lighted and during the next night all four lamps. If it is desired that only two lamps be lighted on each night, the two center lamps (Figure 5) may either be screwed loose in their sockets, or they may be provided with individual switches which may be kept open.

The lighting circuit is opened at any predetermined hour by setting the similar segmental plate 20 equipped with like gears 2226, adjusting knob 18 and disc 28' having a lug 30' to make andbreak a circuit between the spring contacts 31'32' in an obvious manner, thus providing means for complete lighting control.

' It will be understood that the'preferred form of the device has been disclosed as one example only of the many possible ways to construct the same in practice and that such changesmay be made as come within the scope of the appended claim without departure from the spirit of the invention.

' Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:

In an automatic electric light control appara tus, a clock, a time switch comprising a clock dial having an arcuate slot concentric with the axis of the clock works spindle, a sector plate journalled on said spindle back of said dial, means to adjust said plate angularly along the dial slot, a gear train on said plate having its driver actuated by said spindle to rotate the last gear in said train one complete revolution in twenty-four hours, a drive pin fixed in the last gear, a disc journalled concentrically on said last gear, said disc having a circular row of spaced perforations to engage said pin selectively, and means on the periphery of said disc to open and close said time switch at a predetermined time.

GEORGE ELFLEIN. 

